The writing was on the wall that the Phoenix Suns would trade Kevin Durant over the summer after they tried to trade him to the Warriors before the deadline. Phoenix wanted to get a deal done before the draft, and it happened. The Suns acquired Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick, and five second-round picks from the Rockets.
As soon as the deal happened, the main consensus was that Phoenix could've gotten more from Houston. That was months before Durant played in his first game. On Tuesday, KD suited up for his first official game with Houston, as the Rockets and Thunder tipped off the 2025-26 NBA regular season on NBC.
Houston went into the half with a 57-51 lead over the defending champions. Durant led the Rockets with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Houston desperately needed a go-to scorer, a weakness that was made painfully evident in the playoffs, and it couldn't have gotten a better one.
Who bailed the Rockets out when their offense stalled during the first half? Durant, duh.
Rockets half-court offense/pace/spacing still not great and that is when it is nice to have Kevin Durant make shots to bail you out of that.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 22, 2025
Kevin Durant shines in his first official game with the Rockets
Houston finished as the No. 2 seed in the West last season, surprising many. The Rockets didn't have the offensive firepower to compete with Steph Curry and the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
They were nabbed as one of the top teams to land Durant, but the front office understandably had its reservations about trading for a soon-to-be 37-year-old. Houston got to where it was with patience, so what would happen if the Rockets gutted part of their depth for Durant? It turns out they didn't need to worry about that, as it was a no-brainer move to get KD for the price they paid.
It's only the first game of 82 for Houston, but the Durant trade already looks like a win. It looked like a win as soon as it happened, but some things you can't believe until you see, right? In this case, though, you didn't need to see it.
Durant might've thought that he'd end his NBA career with the Suns, maybe after winning a third championship. As much as Phoenix fans desperately wanted that to happen, it took a completely different turn.
Perhaps KD will win another title before he retires, after all, just not with the Suns.